Big Voice, Small Package

Alexander

Alex came into my life just when I needed him most. Coco also needed a mate as she was still trying to figure out what happened to Sebastian. She would walk around the house meowing for him, it just added to the stress of the situation. So Mike took things into his hands and started pursuing getting another cat.

We found Alex in the paper as I mentioned above. He was a beautiful little 2 pound kitten with green eyes. He was VERY shy and during the ride back to our house he didn’t make a peep so I thought “wow, this is a quiet cat” BOY WAS I WRONG! That night Alex was adjusting to his new home and he was NOT happy. He “kitten screamed” all night long. I tried to have him with us in our room, but I couldn’t catch him. Instead he preferred the office under the desk. So we left him in there with a bowl of food and a cat box, but still he cried all night.

The next morning Alex finally fell asleep, I think he wore himself out! So I went into the office to try and see if he would warm up to me. NOPE, he would have nothing to do with me and then he started meowing again, did I mention that he is loud? So I shut the door and tried to give him some peace. After about 2 hours of this I called Mike and told him that I didn’t know what to do, he said "just give him more time." I finally decided that the only way this cat was going to get over his fear of me was if I could somehow get him NOT to run away every time he saw me! So I went and got a cat leash. I carefully coaxed him out from under the bed (he had moved to the guest room) and miraculously I got the leash on him! I put him in his carrier and took him outside on the patio, after all it was a rare sunny day in WA. He was still meowing quite loud and I was beginning to wonder what the neighbors were going to think! So I decided to give Alex some more of his food, well he turned his nose up to the stuff, apparently he really didn’t like it. BUT there was some of Coco’s food nearby and he went for it! He ate everything in sight. I bet I fed him three cans of cat food! He was HUNGRY, that’s why he was meowing so loud and he didn’t like the food that the breeder had been feeding him poor kitty! After he gorged himself he washed his face and promptly curled up on my lap and went to sleep! AMAZING! After that it was smooth sailing for our family. Alex gets along famously with Coco, she grooms him and they play together, it’s heart warming.

Just as Alex was getting settled it was time for us to move across the country again, this time to Washington DC. I was so glad to leave Washington State and yet, it was bitter sweet, I had to leave my beautiful Sebastian there. Moving day was both a sad and incredibly happy day, if that’s possible. As we drove away from Washington State I cried and cried I was saying my goodbyes to Sebastian and it was terribly hard....I will never ever forget him....

It was a peaceful drive towards our new life, Mike and I thought “this will be a piece of cake." But then came day three, the day that Alex discovered the sun roof. I don’t think he had ever seen the sun before! Anyway, here we are driving and Alex decided that he wanted out of the car through the sun roof! He quickly got up on the back of my seat and hung there like King Kong on the Empire State Building, yowling at the sun roof! He was determined to get out! It was a very interesting sight, I think Alex had had enough of being in the car! Coco in her usual principessa style, just biffed him upside the head as if you say "stop whining, it's not that bad!" Mike quickly closed the sun roof and Alex calmed right down. More Cat Tails to come......

Reflections and Tears

Our time in Washington ended on March 16th that was the day we left for our new home on the East Coast. We were missing one thing on that day……Sebastian. Sadly, and I am writing this with tears in my eyes, I lost my beautiful cat 2 months earlier on January 10, 2001.

I had let him out as usual, it was such a nice day and I thought he would enjoy the sunshine. He and Coco went out around the corner of the house Like they had done so many times before. I went upstairs to take a shower. About 20 minutes later Coco came running up the stairs with a poofy tail and she kept looking behind her as though something was chasing her. I went outside and called Sebastian but it was quiet and peaceful, still there was something not right. I continued to call him for the rest of the day and I looked all day and asked the neighbors if they had seen him. The day turned to night and it was cold and still no Sebastian. I didn’t sleep at all that night and I was out searching through the forest by 5:30am, this pattern went on for 2 solid weeks, I also put up signs EVERYWHERE and called the Humane Society everyday. Nothing I did worked I was alone (Mike was at sea) and very depressed. I had just lost my little soul mate. My friend, Annette, came over and helped me look but I never did find him…..

Here is what I think happened to him. We had a family of Coyotes living down the valley from us and the day Sebastian disappeared the neighbors and I heard them howling. I am 99% sure that he was taken by a Coyote and Coco witnessed the whole thing. When she came running in that day she had been really spooked and now if she even hears a dog bark she freaks out a little. This has been a traumatic and horrible experience and I’m not sure what I am supposed to learn from it but I urge all of you to keep your kitties inside especially if you live in a wooded area. There are so many things I wish I could change and not letting Sebastian out that day tops the list. I miss him….

When Mike arrived home to this tragedy he tried to help by looking day and night for Sebastian, but you see, I had already done that. Never-the-less we looked together it was nice to have him home and not have to go through this alone anymore. January turned to February and still no Sebastian I was feeling really low, lower then I have EVER felt in my life. It was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day and I was on-line checking the Humane Society in case Sebastian was there, when I came across a little Russian Blue kitten that was up for adoption. I mentioned to Mike that I thought he was beautiful so he grabbed my coat and said “lets go have a look.” So we went, but when we arrived the kitten had already been adopted, but did I really want another cat? I was still mourning Sebastian as I am right now. Anyway, we went home empty handed which was OK too. Then on Sunday, Mike was looking in the classifieds and there was a Russian Blue advertised for sale. So we called and off we went to the apartment where the cat was. I have never in my life bought a cat they have always just shown up in my yard or I get them from the Humane Society, but this little kitten NEEDED to get out of where it was living. The apartment was filthy and overrun with cats, the woman that had him was obviously a drug addict so Mike and I quickly adopted the kitten and got the heck outta there. His name is Alexander, Alex for short and he has started a new chapter in his life and brought much needed joy and laughter to mine.......more Cat Tails to come.......

Pampas Grass and Swaying Trees

As anyone who owns cats knows, trips to the vet are a way of life but Sebastian should really rent a room at the vet! He is always getting into some kind of trouble! One sunny (rare in western Washington) morning Sebastian went outside, everything was fine. He came back an hour later with stuff coming out his nose and mouth! It was disturbing and scary! He looked like something from a Stephen King novel. So off to the vet we went. They informed me after a thorough investigation (that included the thermometer up the butt, which Sebastian despises) that he had a piece of pampas grass stuck in his nose! Thank God it wasn’t serious, but how does one get a piece of pampas grass stuck in one’s nose? He apparently tried to throw up grass and it went into his nasal passage instead, poor kitty! It was constantly tickling the back of his throat causing the gag reflex. The vet had to knock him out to remove the grass. When we went back later that day to pick him up, the vet says "he's pretty pissed off, you better go back and get him!" I said, "yeah, I'm used to it!" We took him home and he was fine. What a way to spend a Sunday!

Sebastian was up to his old tricks pretty much immediately following the pampas grass episode. Early one evening I said to Mike "where is Sebastian?" He says "I don't know." So I go to the door and call him....now I can hear his bell but I can't see him! So I call for Mike to come and help look for him. We are walking around the yard, which is pretty much a forest, calling and listening. Finally I say, "look up!" There is Sebastian WAAAAAAAAYYYY up in a tree! By now it's completely dark and the wind is blowing making the tall tree sway, Sebastian is hanging on for dear life and all the while we hear the tinkle tinkle of his little bell. After surveying the situation Mike's Navy training kicks in and he decides on a plan of action to get Sebastian out of the tree. He climbs up on a fallen tree, balances a ladder on top of it, then proceeds to climb up the ladder as far as he can. Then I hand him the laundry basket which he holds out for Sebastian to jump into. In he goes, then Mike lowers him down to the fallen tree like an elevator, Sebastian jumps out, like nothing has happened, and goes inside to eat! The things we do for that cat!

And so the wild adventures continue. I have had the pleasure of meeting all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures thanks to Sebastian and Coco. I have had snakes and geckos in the house as well as mice and moles. It gives a whole new meaning to the title of mother! Even if it is mother to a couple of cats. At least it keeps me entertained as I sit here in Washington State waiting for the sun to come out! More Cat Tails to come...